Brandon Sails, Art Director for the Saratoga Automobile Museum, has forwarded these previously unpublished photos of the Alco Black Beast during the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The photos are courtesy of the Alco Historical & Technical Society.

Professor Pau Medrano Bigas, Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Barcelona, has spent ten years researching Michelin's graphic history. In July 2015, Pau completed his doctorate thesis "The forgotten years of Bibendum: the American stage of Michelin in Milltown."
Design, illustration and advertising at tire companies (1900-1930). .

Chris Collora of Patch.com created this video of the Alco Black Beast's participation in the 2011 Indy 500 Pre-Race. ThIs nine-minute film features an extended interview with me describing my first Indy experience.

Artist George Ellis has painted this beautiful watercolor painting of the Alco Black Beast at the Hicksville Turn during the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup Race. George has provided background information on the painting.

William Pickering (1865-1929) was one of the earliest Long Island photographers documenting many of the people, buildings and events in Nassau County including the Vanderbilt Cup Races. In 2009, Catherine Pickering shared with me these photos and postcards taken by her grandfather.

Tim Ivers: "Howard, the 1932 Hagstrom Map shows an overpass over the LIMP (Bloomingdale Road extension) which connected with Hempstead Tpke. The overpass is about halfway between Jerusalem Avenue on the west and Wantagh Rd (Ave.) on the east. Are there any known photos of this overpass, or other information?"

Fred Wagner was the official starter of all the Vanderbilt Cup Races with the exception of the 1904 race. Accordingly, Wagner was the "Zelig" of early racing and captured in hundreds of photos. Here are my some of my favorites.

Margaret, George and Eric Vitale of Barn Find Antiquities recently purchased a vintage leather trunk. To their surprise, the bottom of the truck was lined with a May 7, 1911 edition of the newspaper The World including this article:

The Long Island Automotive Museum offered a wide array of related merchandise including; jewelry, label buttons, photos, model car kits, china and series of postcards. As described in this brochure , provided by Walter McCarthy, there were over 500 cars postcards published featuring the cars of "Henry Austin Clark, Jr. and other

The primary reason American and European manufacturers participated in the Vanderbilt Cup Racers and invested in race cars and racing teams was to publicize their automobile product lines. The winning company had a golden opportunity to promote the connections between their triumphant race car and their best-selling models. In the

Alco-6 Black Beast's major races included two Vanderbilt Cup Races, the first Indianapolis 500, two Elgin Trophy Races, and one American Grand Prize Race. Here's the updated racing record with new images:

The decision of the Indianapolis Speedway to hold one major 500-mile race in 1911 with an unheard purse of $25,100 (equal to $571,000 today) attracted the best racing teams and drivers. Not surprisingly, many of the drivers who participated in the Vanderbilt Cup Races and its associated races also drove in the Inaugural

Besides its two Vanderbilt Cup Race victories, the Alco-6 Black Beast's most famous race was the Inaugural Indy 500 held on May 30, 1911. To further celebrate this year's centennial, here is a comprehensive review of the Alco's performance as one of the 40 participants in this historic race.

Cablevision's Neighborhood Journal has developed a five-part film series on the Vanderbilt Cup Races. The producer and narrator of the film is Bob Klement who is interviewed by host Joanna Venditto. The five parts of the series are:

VanderbiltCupRaces.com introduces today a new "Rare Images" series featuring rarely seen photos of Vanderbilt Cup Race personalities. We start off with this photo of Harry Grant and mechanician Frank Lee just prior to winning the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race.

The 1911 Elgin National Trophy Race was the only major race in which American Locomotive Company supplied entries besides the Black Beast. The three Alcos in the race were serviced by a team of 12 drivers, mechanicians and mechanics. As captured in this photo provided by Lee Ferbin of Springfield , Missouri, Harry

Harry Grant's last great race in the Alco-6 Black Beast Racer's was the 1911 Elgin National Trophy Race held on the Illinois course. Driver Harry Grant was shown here with his mechanician George Babcock prior to a practice run. This was the only major race in which mechanican Frank Lee did

Prior to the 1911 Indy 500 Race, the #18 Alco conducted practice runs on the Long Island Motor Parkway. On these runs, a New York license plate M1067 was placed on the front of the car. (Post corrected on November 10, 2011- Original post indicated the Alco was practicing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race).

This seven-minute film documents the four- mile ride of the Alco "Black Beast" at the Nassau County Executive's 1st Annual Cruise to the Show Parade held on August 15, 2010. The "Black Beast" was the lead car of over 500 vintage and classic cars that participated. It covered the four-mile course from Garden

To promote their 1911 Alco product line, American Locomotive Company provided four large photos to all their dealerships of their Vanderbilt Cup Race winner. In this dealership photo, the #18 Alco was making the Westbury Turn from Old Country Road to Ellison Road during the 1910 race. Click on the photos to enlarge

A large field of 30 cars raced in the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race held on October 1, 1910. The race was run on the same course as in 1909- a total of 12.64 miles including 5.15 miles of the Long Island Motor Parkway. The winner needed to complete 22 laps of the course for a total of 278.08

The primary reason for automobile manufacturers and their suppliers to build and equip expensive racers for the Vanderbilt Cup Races was the opportunity to promote a potential victory. As an example, these ads appeared in the November 2, 1909 issue of Horseless Age after the Alco-6 driving by Harry Grant won the

After viewing over a hundred vintage photos of Nassau County taken by photographer William Pickering in the early 1900s, Catherine Pickering and I found one more treasure last Wednesday: the "Black Beast"!

One of the last major races that for the "Black Beast" was the Inaugural Indy 500 Race held on May 30, 1911. As published in the June 3, 1911 issue of Automobile Topics, this photo shows the #19 Alco-6 Racer taking the brick curve during the parade lap. Shown with the Alco driven by Harry Grant

After winning its second consecutive Vanderbilt Cup Race in October 1910, the Alco-6 Racer was one of the favorites for the Inaugural Indy 500 Race to be held on May 30, 1911. For this race, the Alco-6 was assigned # 19. Unlike, the Vanderbilt Cup Races, the number was not assigned by a random drawing but

The Alco-6 Black Beast Racer participated in major automobile races throughout the United States from 1909 to 1911 including; two Vanderbilt Cup Races, the first Indy 500 Race, two Elgin Trophy Races, and one American Grand Prize Race. Until recently, the only Indy 500 image that I could find of the Alco was its

A.R. Pardington was William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.'s right-hand man and helped develop both the Vanderbilt Cup Races and the Long Island Motor Parkway. Last March, a family member Marshall Davies Llyod emailed VanderbiltCupRaces.com requesting photos and films of A.R. I found the photos but no films...

Richard, in 1911, American Locomotive Company published a promotional brochure The Vanderbilt Cup Race-Grant's Own Story. The brochure described Harry Grant's strategy in winning the Vanderbilt Cup Races in 1909 and 1910. He also gave credit to your grandfather:

The Alco-6 Black Beast Racer's last great race was the 1911 Elgin National Trophy Race held on the Illinois course. In the above postcard, driver Harry Grant and his mechanician George Babcock are shown prior to a practice run. This was the only major race in which mechanican Frank Lee did

Over 25 years ago, Hayden Allen provided his grandfather's photo album to Walter Gosden to help document the history of their home town of Floral Park. The album also included 16 photos taken by Mr. Allen's grandfather of the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Walter Gosden, who is now the Village Historian for Floral

From 1909 to 1911, the Alco-6 Black Beast Racer competed in 13 major races. The Alco's last race was at the Elgin National Trophy Race held on August 26, 1911. Despite finishing a strong second , the American Locomotive Company decided to quit racing two weeks later. Lee Ferbin of Springfield, Missouri has forwarded the above

Mark Dill has discovered an
Indianapolis Star article published on May 21, 1911 describing how Harry Grant warmed up the Alco Black Beast for the first Indy 500 Race. The Alco reached a speed of over 107 mph on a practice run on the Long Island Motor Parkway.

Driver Harry Grant with mechanician Frank Lee drove the 1909 Alco Black Beast in the greatest races of its time; two Vanderbilt Cup Races, two Elgin National Trophy Race, one American Grand Prize and the Inauguaral Indy 500 Race in 1911.

Every race car that participated in the Vanderbilt Cup Races of 1904 to 1910 carried two men, the driver and a riding mechanic called a mechanician. The mechanician assisted with repairs, helped navigate the course, and worked a hand pump to maintain fuel pressure.

VanderbiltCupRaces.com has heard from several relatives of participants in the Vanderbilt Cup Races including George Robertson, Frank Lee, Al Poole and Harry Grant. If your relative participated in the Vanderbilt Cup Races as a driver or mechanician, leave a post or contact us and I will send you complimentary

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The six Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 were the greatest sporting events of their day, and the first international automobile road races held in the United States. The races had a far-reaching impact on the development of American automobiles and parkways. This site provides comprehensive information on the races, the Long Island Motor Parkway and current Long Island automotive events, car shows and news.